With Bastille Day just a few days away my thoughts have been returning to France, and a magical week in
Provence earlier this spring. One of my favorite stops was a couple of nights spent in the mountains above Cannes in the town of
Mougins. Charming medieval hilltop towns are plentiful in Provence, so my decision to stay in one town or the other often comes down to discovering a special hotel or bed and breakfast. Such was the case with Mougins, and specifically,
Les Rosees, a charming 400 year old provincial farmhouse, surrounded by roses and filled with antiques. Owned and operated by one family, each member has a role in running the guesthouse, and unsurprisingly the mother is a talented interior decorator. Breakfast was run by the owner’s sweet sister, and though my French is very poor through my stuttering and charades she took my order and created a beautiful breakfast spread each morning.
Beautiful breakfasts aside, one likely comes to Les Rosees for the decor, and a chance to bypass the big hotels that line the coast for a chance to live like a local. (An especially stylish local!)
Each suite is massive and done up in a unique style. I poked my head into a few rooms (how could I not!) my favorite was Suite Isadora, which is unapologetically romantic with it’s elegant bath and vine-covered terrace even larger than the room. Other spaces like Suite Serguey have special features like a dual-sided wood burning fireplace which can be seen and enjoyed from both the bed and the bathtub, and there’s even a cozy little “Gipsy” wagon hidden amongst the roses away from the main house. If you want to take home a piece of Les Rosees, they have a
store in neighboring Valbonne filled with decorative wares. To say I loved it here is an understatement, and judging from your reactions to my Instagram stories - you loved it here too.
Just a short drive up the hill lands you in Mougins, which is famously where Picasso settled for the last years of his life, and still is home to many artists. Inspiration abounds in the tiny alleyways and it was one of my favorite villages from my week long stay in Provence. While Mougins has two Michelin-starred restaurants in town, I had reservations at La Bastide Saint Antoine in neighboring Grasse, hoping to eat outside on their gorgeous bougainvillea covered terrace. It was too cold to dine outside but the meal was no less beautiful indoors. Mougins was a wonderful base for exploring the region including day trips to
Bargeme and
Villefranche-sur-Mer, both of which will be covered a separate blog post.
Thank you to
Les Rosees for partnering on this post! While my stay was complimentary, all views and opinions are my own.
xx, SF
